Nick Baldwin

From lumbering house-shakers on solid tyres to smooth turbo-power in the 1970s, the lorry has come a very long way in a remarkably short time. In the early competition between steam, petrol and electricity, the internal combustion engine had more or less won by the 1920s, after proving itself in the First World War, when all-wheel-drive arrived in quantity and...

Steam, and then cumbersome motor, tractors existed in small numbers before 1914. After this period, the need to produce more foods using less horse and manpower saw the origins of the machine we know today. Thanks to mass production, Ford brought the price down to suit average farmers. In the 1920s to 1940s, numerous rivals introduced novelties such as diesel...